Impossibly Forever: Two Books in One (Impossibly Duology) (17 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Moya

  
Friday didn’t come soon enough
.  By the end of the day, I was
driving home to Berlin Heights with Vanessa. She looked better than she did
yesterday, only her voice still sounded hoarse.

  
“I can’t wait for this cold to go away. Don’t want to be sick over the
holiday,” she groaned, getting tissue out of her purse to wipe her nose.

  
“Well, until then, you just keep it to yourself, sweetie. I hate being sick.
I’m the most miserable person in the world when I have a cold.”

  
Vanessa managed a laugh in the middle of her coughing. “I know that’s right.
Not even your own momma wants to be around you when the green goblin comes
out,” she joked.

  
Suddenly, the air tensed. I wasn’t in the mood to talk about my family issues,
and right about now, I knew she was going to take it there. She’d been waiting
for the perfect opportunity.

  
“How are things with y’all now?”

  
“It’s…all right.”      

  
“All right as in after coming close to losing Branden you realized being mad
isn’t worth it, or all right as in you’re just not going to talk about it and
leave things unsettled between you and your momma and give her one dry
conversation for the rest of your life?”

  
Vanessa knew me well enough to answer her own question. We’d been best friends
since her family moved to Berlin Heights and she started going to my elementary
school. It didn’t take her long to learn everything about me, especially how I
coped with things, or rather, how I didn’t handle things and only pushed them
aside.

  
“Moya?”

  
“Huh?” I snapped out of my thoughts.

  
“Are you getting anywhere with your father?” she pressed.

  
“Forgiveness takes time,” I said softly.

  
“But y’all were hugging at the hospital. So, how come there hasn’t been any
progress?”

  
“Because...” she was starting to frustrate me with her questions. I still had
the feeling of abandonment gnawing at my heart, and I wanted to deal with it on
my own. “School’s been keeping me busy. I’ll call him during the break.”

  
My voice sounded a shakier than normal. I wondered if Vanessa noticed my
apprehension and eagerness to drop the subject.

  
She sighed.
“So stubborn.
That sounds to me like
you’re not even trying. I don’t get it. Girl, your father’s back. I know it’s
what you’ve secretly wanted all these years. Now do something.”

  
I heard a pang of hurt in her voice, possibly from not having her own father
around. Still, it was hard for me. Not only was I scared of rebuilding what had
been missing for years, I was hesitant of allowing myself to believe my father
would stay in my life and not disappear again. No matter what caused him to
leave before.

  
Thankfully, Vanessa didn’t push further. The rest of the drive home remained
peaceful with only the emotional, heartwarming, and honey-like harmonies of a
Toni Braxton’s song, Hero. The purity in her flawless voice, enforced with
realistic lyrics, instantly reminded me of Branden and the way he broke down my
walls with ease, filling me with a passion I hadn’t experienced before. Indeed,
my heart never had a hero, and he was mine.

  
I arrived in our neighborhood in no time, pulling up outside of my house. Turning
the car off, I glanced over at the driveway. Momma’s car was there.

  
“Wanna go to the mall in the morning?” Vanessa asked before getting out.

  
“Sure. I need some stuff for winter.”

  
“Cool.” She reached over to the backseat and grabbed her bag. I did the same.

  
As we stepped out of the car, she said, “Remember girl, life is short. Don’t
play with it.”

  
Funny how people who’d lost loved ones said that more often
than others who hadn’t.

  
I walked around to where she was standing, giving her a light pat on the arm.
“I know.”

  
“Well, thanks for the ride as always.” Vanessa angled her head to the side and
made a grateful pout, spreading her arms apart to give me a hug.

  
I backed up and lifted my palms, stopping her. “I love you, but no hugs until
you’re better and I don’t hear you
sniffling
your nose
every minute.”

  
“Dang, Ms.
Thang
. Don’t act like you’ve never had a
cold.” She sucked her teeth, pursed her lips, and rolled her eyes playfully.

  
“Hey, I don’t wanna catch it,” I defended.

  
“Fine.
I’m going home. Bye.”

  
Vanessa draped her backpack over one shoulder and strutted past me.

  
“Bye,” I chortled, watching as she rounded the corner to her house.

  
Looking back at mine, my smile faded a bit as I entered the gate and walked up
the porch steps. Here we go.

  
“I’m home,” I called out as I opened the front
door.          “Hey, baby.” Momma
came out of the kitchen, meeting me in the foyer. The house smelled like soup.
“How was the drive home?” She wrapped her arms around me. I lightly hugged her
back, wanting to forgive and forget, and recapture that mother-daughter
closeness we had before.

  
I had to try.

  
“The drive was all right,” I muttered as she pulled away to let me catch my
breath. “Nessa came down with me too. She caught a cold.”

  
“Oh,” she frowned.
“Poor thing.
Well, at least her
momma’s a nurse so she can get better faster than most. You want to snack on
something before dinner, baby? I made brownies.”

  
I nodded and followed her into the kitchen where she was boiling her favorite
pumpkin soup. Leaning against the counter, I took a bite into a brownie then
asked, “Almost done?”

  
Momma stirred the pot, tapped the spoon at the side, and placed it on top of
the counter beside the stove.
“Almost.”

  
For a moment, she stood staring at me, picking at her apron. Her mouth twitched
as if she wanted to say something, but not quite sure of the right words.

  
I eased away from the counter. “I’m going to read a bit until the soup’s
ready.”

  
Turning to head out of the kitchen, Momma called out to me before I went down
the hall to my bedroom. “Please don’t be upset…”

  
Perplexed, I spun to face her.
“Upset about what?”

  
She wiped her hands on the apron as she spoke. “I invited your daddy to
Christmas dinner.”

  
Honestly, I wasn’t surprised.

  
“It’s fine. I’m not upset.”

  
She stared at me with a quizzical look in her eyes. “You sure, baby?”

  
“Yeah, Momma,” I smiled as I spoke calmly. “Why would I be upset? I mean, you
made the decision to kick him out of my life, and now you’re making the
decision to bring him back. It’s all up to you.”

  
Her eyes sank, her face dropped. She was deeply hurt. Things just kept slipping
out without me thinking first. When did I become so insensitive to my own
mother?

  
Remembering what Branden said about taking baby steps, and Vanessa reminding me
that life was short, I swallowed my pride and walked up to her.

  
“I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to fix things, and I haven’t been the easiest
person to deal with—”

  
“You have every right to be mad at me, baby girl,” she cut me off. “There’s no
way you could up and forgive me for what I did, not this soon. I just…” she
looked at my hands, taking them into hers. They were warm, comforting, yet
coarse from working so hard. “It’s a lot to ask, but could you please try?”

  
This time, I wrapped my arms around her. “I am trying, Momma. I am.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Branden

  
“Branden, what’s this?”
Mom asked, yanking my earplugs out. The music
was on blast so I didn’t hear her come down to the den. She waved an envelope
and a sheet of paper in front of my face. I got off the treadmill and took them
from her.

  
Even though the letter was addressed to me, that didn’t stop
her from opening it.
“Snooping through my mail now, Mom?”

  
“Irrelevant,” she scoffed. “Why is Easton University’s athletics department
mailing you about your medical records? You’re not thinking about playing
hockey again, are you?”

  
I walked away from her and picked up my towel off the suede ottoman. Sitting
down to catch my breath, I wiped beads of sweat off my face and neck. When I
looked up at her again, I noticed her distress.

  
“I’m doing much better now,” I assured her.

  
“Oh, my God!”
Her eyes widened. “You are! Branden,
we’ve been over this already—”

  
I didn’t let her finish scolding me. “Doctor Henderson said I could give it
another shot since the disease is completely gone.”

  
Her forehead wrinkled. Mom had a dark look in her eyes as she spoke. “He also
said there’s a slight chance it might come back.”

  
“Exactly!”
I stood and tossed the towel over my shoulder.
“A slight chance; one in a billion.
Mom, you have to
support me on this. Hockey’s my dream.”

  
Looking back at the letter in my hand, she pleaded in a somber tone, “I don’t
have to support this. Branden, please don’t do this to me. I don’t want to go
through that pain again.”

  
I gazed down and kicked at the carpet with my sneakers, considering what she
just said. She stepped past me and went back up the stairs, leaving her words
floating in the air around me.

  
Mom could be inconsiderate with some of the things she’d say. Hadn’t she seen
the impact sentences like those had on me? 

  
I walked over to the glass window in the den and peered out at the river,
sighing. The fog was thick outside. It hovered over the dark river. I could
hardly spot the bridge in the distance.

  
Her words still lingered in my head. They struck me hard, weighing heavy on my
chest. I was the one who had gone through it. I was the one who had stared
death in the face. Not her. She was still making it all about her.

  
“Bran!”
Ashton yelled from atop the stairs.

  
I continued staring out at the foggy river as I answered, “Yeah?”

  
“You have a visitor.”

  
My head spun away from the window and I headed for the stairs. It couldn’t be
Moya. She was having dinner with us tomorrow night.

  
“Who is it?” I asked, reaching the top.

  
“Some kid named Warren.”

  
Warren? I hadn’t spoken to him since I got sick again at the start of the
semester and had to take a leave of absence from school.  

  
As I approached the living room, I saw him checking out my mom’s antiques. He
seemed really fascinated with the ugly eagle sculpture she got as a souvenir
from her trip to Dominican Republic. Then again, that’s where his parents were
from.

  
I entered, saying, “Hey, man. How’s it going?”

  
Warren turned and gave me a quick handshake and light pat on the shoulder.
“Hey, dude. How’re you doing? I heard what happened to you. Listen, I know we
didn’t get to hang out much or really got to know each other, but if you ever
need a friend, you know?”

  
“Thanks, man.” I nodded and gestured for him to have a seat on the couch. I sat
on the chair opposite. “So, how’s everything going? Found a new roommate yet?”

  
“Yeah, some party animal,” he laughed, as if he wasn’t like that too. “
You starting
classes next semester or…?”

  
“Definitely.
I really want to get back on track.”

  
“That’s cool, man. I’m looking to switch things up for myself too. I even
joined the basketball team.”

  
Amazed by this news, my brows went up. Warren was short, and thinner than most
players on the college team.
“Oh yeah?
I didn’t take
you for the sports type.”

  
He let out a short laugh and said, “Well, it’s partly my dad’s idea, but I
figured I should be more involved, you know? Take full advantage of my college
experience. I’m even taking it easy with all the dating, going the one girl
route like you.”

  
Another surprise.
“Hey, that’s good.
All the best.”

  
“Thanks, dude. Oh, didn’t you play a sport in high school? I remember hearing
that somewhere…” he searched his head for the source.

  
I answered anyway, “I did. I played hockey for a while; thinking about starting
it up again.”

  
Suddenly, his face tensed. “But, I thought—”

  
“So,
you heading
home for the holidays?”

  
Warren understood that I was trying to change the subject, appearing more
unnerved now. “I am. I don’t live too far from here, just down by Meredith
Creek.”          

  
“Oh, that’s cool. My parents own a cabin out there.”

  
“Nice.”

  
That’s where I planned on taking Moya for our weekend getaway. She’d like it.

  
“Well, I just wanted to see how you’re doing.” He got up from the couch.

  
“Sure thing.”
I stood as well, shook his hand, and
then walked him to the front door. “Thanks for stopping by. I know you’re busy
with finals coming up.”

  
“Don’t sweat it. I’ll see you soon.”

  
The second Warren left, I retracted the negative assumption I’d made about him
in the beginning. He wasn’t a bad guy after all.